Without any other arguments than all the others already came with.. If youre gonna spend $$ on either a bass or an amp, go for the ampr first.
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Which would you upgrade first? An amp or a bass?
- Thread starter StrudelBass
- Start date
That's because you phrased your original question poorly.
The numbers for "amp" only started taking off after I edited your title.
I guess this solves another poll.
"How many people read the topic title and not the topic body"
"How many people read the topic title and not the topic body"
Originally posted by StrudelBass
I guess this solves another poll.
"How many people read the topic title and not the topic body"
Uh, no.
The title of the thread was chosen by you. The poll title also. Take a look at it. What's a person supposed to think?
Man, I didn't notice that at all!
Based on the title of the poll, I would have voted Bass. Based on the title of the thread(and the subject of the first post) I voted Amp.
I went amp first, but it had something to do with the fact that i had one of those bp-15 *&$%s nothing like the jump from that crap pot to an ampeg, of course, i'm a crumby underpaid and underworking farmhand, so i'm still saving for a better bass
I went for the amp first, when you get into a band and you need to sound loud u HAVE to get a good amp the guitar as long as it works is fine for your playing (speaking from experience)
Word of advice: Don't put joke answers like "carrots" in your polls. People like me will ALWAYS vote for the joke answer. 
Originally posted by Golem II
Word of advice: Don't put joke answers like "carrots" in your polls. People like me will ALWAYS vote for the joke answer.
Lol. Maybe he was hungry.
I'll go with my standard answer, "it depends."
If you play in a band or are working to get that way soon and assuming that your bass is of good enough quality to be reliable and can be set up properly and stay that way, I would say amp.
Not so much for how you will sound, but to meet the headroom needs of playing with a drummer and having a dependable rig that you and others can count on.
If you spend most of your time working on solo stuff and home recording or your bass is of so poor quality that your technique is suffering, I would say bass.
In either case, I would avoid extremes. If it takes you two years to save $2K, I would suggest a $1200 amp and $800 bass rather than dropping the whole wad on the amp and waiting another two years for a $2k bass.
Chas
If you play in a band or are working to get that way soon and assuming that your bass is of good enough quality to be reliable and can be set up properly and stay that way, I would say amp.
Not so much for how you will sound, but to meet the headroom needs of playing with a drummer and having a dependable rig that you and others can count on.
If you spend most of your time working on solo stuff and home recording or your bass is of so poor quality that your technique is suffering, I would say bass.
In either case, I would avoid extremes. If it takes you two years to save $2K, I would suggest a $1200 amp and $800 bass rather than dropping the whole wad on the amp and waiting another two years for a $2k bass.
Chas
I have read thorugh and found many of the arguments to be interesting. The amp may play the dominant role in the overall tone. But I would still suggest bass.
My reason is that when you have a lousy bass they are harder to play. With my Fender Jazz, I can play circles around what I could do with my Rogue.
So, in a nutshell, I think that better playing is also a important ingredient of better tone. And on top of that if you can play the instrument easier, you can probably do more, play faster, play more accurately, ... etc etc. And most amps sound okay if you don't push them.
My reason is that when you have a lousy bass they are harder to play. With my Fender Jazz, I can play circles around what I could do with my Rogue.
So, in a nutshell, I think that better playing is also a important ingredient of better tone. And on top of that if you can play the instrument easier, you can probably do more, play faster, play more accurately, ... etc etc. And most amps sound okay if you don't push them.
Having a good bass will make it easier to play more difficult lines, but that is usually not what is needed for the gig. Playing a simple line with a solid tone is going to get you much farther than a poor tone and a blaze of fuzzy notes. I have heard a lot of players with a great sound using a P-bass copy through an SVT amp and a lot of bad sounds using a Modulus through a Peavey TNT150.
Most of your sound comes from the amp! (just my opinion
)
Originally posted by lo-z
Having a good bass will make it easier to play more difficult lines, but that is usually not what is needed for the gig. Playing a simple line with a solid tone is going to get you much farther than a poor tone and a blaze of fuzzy notes. I have heard a lot of players with a great sound using a P-bass copy through an SVT amp and a lot of bad sounds using a Modulus through a Peavey TNT150.
Most of your sound comes from the amp! (just my opinion
I hear what you are saying, but I think it's also important that you fret cleanly, that you make your changes on the mark, that you don't leave unwanted strings ringing, that you don't get hum, that you stay in tune durring the song, that you don't hear the string slap down each time you fret, even fretwork so you don't buzz through half the song, etc etc ... The bass helps the tone too!
I am leaving out the pickups tone, coloration of the tone from the wood, badass bridge helping the sustain, nice new strings sounding sharp...I say it depends on context.What if you are a bedroom warrior like me and don't have to cut through anything more noisy than chirping crickets?
If I won a $10,000 rig it would be wasted. I'd go for the bass.
If I won a $10,000 rig it would be wasted. I'd go for the bass.
I voted carrots because there was not a 'depends' option.
If a player is not in a band then get a good bass. Don't get a Fodera or Sadowski but a US Fender or Musicman or Bolt on Warwick (or something similar). Then save for the amp.
If a player is going to join a band then get the amp and maybe EMG's or Barts for the Squire. Save up for a better bass with the gig money and keep the Squier as a spare.
Then there's the variables. Rehearsal rooms often have amplifers (usually a Trace Series 6 in UK). Recording studios often have a selection of amps and basses. If you are on the support band circuit then often you can use the main bassists rig (I've seen a guy with a rack and he used the other guys cabs the whole tour). If you gig rarely and the rehearsal studio has an amp sometimes you can hire it or use a hire company for the gig.
If a player is not in a band then get a good bass. Don't get a Fodera or Sadowski but a US Fender or Musicman or Bolt on Warwick (or something similar). Then save for the amp.
If a player is going to join a band then get the amp and maybe EMG's or Barts for the Squire. Save up for a better bass with the gig money and keep the Squier as a spare.
Then there's the variables. Rehearsal rooms often have amplifers (usually a Trace Series 6 in UK). Recording studios often have a selection of amps and basses. If you are on the support band circuit then often you can use the main bassists rig (I've seen a guy with a rack and he used the other guys cabs the whole tour). If you gig rarely and the rehearsal studio has an amp sometimes you can hire it or use a hire company for the gig.
I'm with Gabe.
The guitar/bass world is the only place in music where the instrument would even be considered secondary to the amplification.
Right or wrong, for me, the instrument will always come first.
The guitar/bass world is the only place in music where the instrument would even be considered secondary to the amplification.
Right or wrong, for me, the instrument will always come first.
This just sounds plain silly - so you have a nice amp in the corner and no bass - now what do you do - look at it?
I think this thread goes to show how stooopid polls are and what a huge waste of time they are!
Carrots for me as well - it all depends on what is holding you back. Deal with the limiting factor in order to move on.
If you've got a place in a band and your amp is not up to the business, go for the amp by all means. OTOH, if the neck of the bass is so badly warped that notes past the fifth fret are hopelessly out of tune, go for the bass.
Maybe both are limiting factors, in which case, get saving
. Or, perhaps you should invest in some lessons instead or perhaps just a new set of strings... it's all so hypothetical.One things for sure though - you can practise your bass without an amp, but I've never seen someone practise their amp without a bass
Wulf
Put it this way. I was thinking of upgrading my ghetto Epiphone Accu-bass Jr. Instead I bought a really nice amp and ditched my 8inch 2 1 watt practice amp. My god am I not wasting money on that bass. It sounds so crisp clean and nice. It took me forever to get away from that beutiful sound to something more ghetto and fit for my music. Well acually I did lie a little. I do plan on getting a second bass ( a regular Accu bass) and defret it and swap out the electronics. But the point is A GOOD AMP CAN MAKE THE MOST GHETTO OF BASSES SOUND GREAT (AND EVEN THE MOST GHETTO OF PLAYERS).
